Free will is a hot debate.
You have two opposing beliefs - one is that free will exists, the other is the free will doesn't exist.
I think the debate really lies in how you define it.
I also feel that one's circumstances and time need to be factored into the equation!
Having free will does not imply that life will always be perfect, or that the choice of another option would have provided us with great happiness. We are not always in control of the alternatives among which we may choose.
It's only through exercising our free will we are able to embrace our humanity. In doing so, we must live with the results of the choices we make. We gain a rewards for good choices and are penalized for bad ones. Every choice is a risk! Living within the status quo is being conservative. Our choices are likely influenced more by fear of penalty than rewards that might result.
If you are choosing to believe that free will is illusion, you are giving up that we have any control over our existence. We easily fall into shifting the blame to others and as such escape from accountability.
"Once the inevitability [that we are accountable] is recognized, we will be inclined to place the full blame [or credit] on ourselves rather than on others or on objective situations beyond our control." (Freedom And Accountability At Work, Koestenbaum and Block, 2001, P. 79)
The upside of choosing the free will path is that we step into a world of opportunity. The downside of free will is that it also opens you up to being held accountable.
I feel that owning your own business is the ultimate choice (and sacrifice?). Since 2009, I've experienced a level of freedom I never had as an employee. But with that freedom came ownership on everything. Unless I could hire someone to do it - I had to own it all.
But while overwhelming in one sense, it forced me to break down business into four main buckets:
As the business owner, you wear those 4 hats. I'd caution you that the 4th bucket 'Everything Else' is where the bright shiny objects live. It's unpaid R&D, it's the fun stuff, but not what pays the bills. It's optional and ONLY exists when you have a profitable venture. I feel it's where a lot of freelancers end up going off the tracks.
You must limit your time on everything else. But also, recognize that 'Everything Else' can be extremely valuable in small doses. Everything else for me has led to some of my most creative business ideas.
Whether making sales calls, dealing with customer service, running operations (and owning any errors), accurate accounting, and marketing... the 'brutal truth' as the owner is that you are soley responsible for all of it! Yes, you reap the reward, but you also accept the blame when things go south.
It's how I chose to spend my time, where I chose to focus my attention, and what I do that defines where I end up.
I can't shift the blame to anyone else or as my last employer often put it 'throw someone under the bus.'
Holy shit! This accoutabilty thing can free you from everything!
Is free will an illusion?
The decisions we make that determine our fate are the result of preexisting thoughts, ideas, and
Where you do your thoughts come from?
Unless you can think what you think before you think it, does free will ever exist?
Memory is buffered!
Our experience of the present moment is only a memory of the present moment. The instant we recognize the present moment, it's only a memory.
You are not free to choose that which does not occur to you.